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Parliament recycling hits 64 per cent after waste drop

The amount of waste recycled on the Parliamentary Estate has risen to 64 per cent of total waste recycled following a change in waste contract.

Responding to a written question by former Shadow Environment Secretary Kerry McCarthy MP, Liberal Democrat Tom Brake, speaking for the House of Commons Commission, which is responsible for services across the 14-site Parliamentary Estate including the Houses of Commons and the Palace of Westminster, explained that the amount of waste produced fell for the second year in a row, while

Brake revealed that the total amount of waste produced by the Estate in 2016 had fallen to 1,595 tonnes, down from 1,622 tonnes in 2015 and a peak of 1,847 tonnes in 2014.

The total amount of waste recycled in 2016 increased to 1,017 tonnes from 1,010 tonnes in 2015, amounting to 64 per cent of total waste, up from 62 per cent in 2015.

“It is the contractual duty of the waste service provider to give advance notice of changes in best practice and waste recycling technology, and to incorporate these into their service provision in the most expedient and effective way possible.”

Bywater’s is not only responsible for the collection and disposal of waste produced by the Parliamentary Estate at its Recycling and Recovery Centre in Bromley-by-Bow, but also for providing consultancy services on how to continually improve Parliament’s recycling activities.

These services and support include training for cleaning staff and a communications campaign for staff and MPs to encourage good recycling habits.

This new contract and the latest recycling figures indicate a commitment on the part of Parliament to reduce its own waste footprint which one must hope will be replicated in the policy-making process on a national scale.

The Resource Association and ESA is calling for the Treasury to show leadership to the waste industry in tomorrow’s Budget, with measures including green public procurement and extended producer responsibility on the wishlist.

Unite, the trade union, and Birmingham city council face a protracted legal battle as a High Court ruling on Wednesday labeled the council’s issue of redundancy notices to 113 Grade Three refuse workers as ‘unlawful’, with strike action suspended for the immediate future.

The Trades Union Congress has supported an emergency motion condemning Birmingham City Council’s decision to go back on an Acas-brokered deal with Unite following the resignation of council leader John Clancy over his handling of the bin dispute.